Tuesday, January 29, 2019

January 27, 2019
7.83 Miles (Biked) in 57:02
Mood: Enjoying some family time.
Soundtrack: Mostly conversation with my son

It's the rare two posts for the same day. I rode Sunday morning, went to church, and then we decided to take a bike ride as a family. The girls hung with us for the first two miles, but Jen had to check on something she was cooking and Ellie had had enough at that point, so the final six miles were just the boys, as we headed down to the Denver Mormon Temple to check out the goofy white holy building surrounded by suburbia. It was a fun ride, as I had an excuse to hang out with Luke which is usually pretty fun.

January 27, 2019
13.07 Miles in 1:33:47
Mood: Merry January 27th!
Soundtrack: Passenger "All the Little Lights" and "Whispers"

Another beautiful Sunday morning, and once again I was on the bike. This time, I spent a large amount of time at the Streets at Southglenn spinning Pokestops as I rode, but I loaded up on enough supplies early enough to also briefly head west and make it to Broadway and back. I didn't see too much interesting, but there was this house where the home owners are clearly having trouble letting go of Christmas. It is almost February, folks.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

January 20, 2019
22.43 Miles (Biked) in 2:11:19
Mood: Yeah, that used to be just a regular hearse.
Soundtrack: Mumford & Sons "Delta" / The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You"

With a gorgeous morning in January with streets that were clear, I knew I needed to make the best of this Sunday. It had been a little bit since the last sojourn to Wash Park, so I figured it was about time to ride the bike up that way. I decided to take Lincoln north, a route I have never before taken, and luckily that decision led me to seeing a hearse decked out with giant guns, a skull for a hood ornament, and what I suppose are bat wings? I don't know what motivates people to do things like this, but thank God they find the motivation. Makes like more interesting.

January 17, 2019
13.93 Miles (Biked) in 1:25:08
Mood: Anti-Jazz, as always.
Soundtrack: The Shins "Port of Morrow"

Another sunny day, and the roads finally had melted to the point where I could venture out into the streets on my bike without fear of sliding on the ice to my death. I still had a few slippery moments of fun, but for the most part, I was able to enjoy a cold but sunny morning in the neighborhood.

As for "Slow the Funk Down", It's nice to know that there are people out there trying to stomp out jazz music. About time.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

First off, it was Ellie's birthday, so Happy Birthday Ellie! I celebrated my daughter turning 14 by heading out to the only place where the snow has been cleared enough to ride my bike...The Streets at Southglenn! I say that they clear the snow, when really what they do is create a giant dirty pile of snow in the parking lot. This mountain of frozen water and dirt is truly enormous...I'm not sure the photograph shows the full scale of it's hugeness.

This was kind of a weak attempt at exercise. I spun around Southglenn for awhile (technically longer than the 6.93 miles and 56:20 miles listed, but the Endomondo App crashed on me yet again.), but I wasn't pushing myself all that hard and mostly was loading up on Pokemon supplies and enjoying a very cold morning outdoors.

January 10, 2019
13.15 Miles (Biked) in 1:15:21
Mood: Grumpy dogs are not made cuter with cute signs.
Soundtrack: Cosmo Sheldrake "The Much Much How How and I" / Mumford & Sons "Delta"

Snow was scheduled for this evening, so I knew that if I wanted to take advantage of the clear streets, I needed to strike now. I have been obsessed with a new Apple commercial which features the song "Come Along" by Cosmo Sheldrake, so I decided to listen to the whole album. I didn't hate it, but I think I'm good with just listening to the one song that I was familiar with and not incorporating the entire weird album into my lifestyle.

Today's photo comes from a fancy house that had a dog who was barking at me. The dog on the sign is much cuter and more friendly looking than their actual dog who didn't seem to enjoy my presence.

I went pretty hard on this ride, and felt that good old fashioned post-workout feeling when I was done...which was pretty sweet.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

January 8, 2019
10.75 Miles (Biked) in 1:19:39
Mood: Let's Go! (But not too hard.)
Soundtrack: Mediocre Show and The After Disaster

I was pretty tired on this Tuesday morning, but I decided I needed to ride because the weather was going to be nice, and there are not enough nice mornings in January. Still, I was pooped, so I didn't ride particularly hard. Just a smidge over 10 miles, and most of that within the friendly confines of The Streets at Southglenn. Still, exercise was had. So yay!

January 6, 2019
19.74 Miles (Biked) in 1:59:10
Mood: Holy Moly, time moves quickly.
Soundtrack: Panic! at the Disco "Pray for the Wicked"

After a week of cold and snow, it finally warmed up enough for the snow to melt and the streets be be non-icy enough for me to jump back on the bike. I took this as a welcome development and hopped back aboard my Fuji to get some miles in. The boys basketball team I coach had won a close game the day before, and I was still in a really good mood thanks to the victory, so I headed out early in the morning with a good feeling in my heart and a desire to get in a decent bike ride.

I headed west without too much of an agenda, and I ended up at Columbine High School. This got me thinking about what most people think of when that school is brought up...the shooting in 1999. I realized that this year will be the 20 year anniversary of that tragedy, and that the seniors graduating this year weren't even born yet when it happened. Then I just felt old and moved on.

I have been avoiding running due to a nagging heel pain. I wouldn't exactly say it's an injury, but it's irritating enough to have me on my bike most mornings that I exercise. The previous night, I did a little Googling and found a potential diagnosis of Heel Pad Syndrome. I have no idea if this is what I'm dealing with, but it sounded like it, and one of the recommended treatments is to tape up my heel to bolster the padding on my heel.

I did that on this morning, and it made me feel instantly much better. Not perfect, but definitely good enough to run. I hadn't exercised since a bike ride on Christmas Eve, and I was desperate to get back out at it. Due to snow, my bike was out of the question, but I figured with the tape job, I could at the very least get out and do a short run.

It felt good to be running again, although my conditioning has fallen apart. I was quickly huffing and puffing, and it felt like the initial few months when I started running way back in 2012. I was slow and had to take several breaks, and only ended up notching slightly over 2 miles, but it felt good and I was able to run, even if just a little, and that was a victory.